As a retired neighbor living in the nearby River
Bridge community, I am very appreciative of Fr. Thomas's invitation to worship
with you this evening. And, a special night it is! With this service we begin
the three sacred days that commemorate milestones of Christianity, culminating
in God's pivotal Surprise on Easter Day.
Maundy Thursday derives its name from a word
meaning "mandate" or "commandment." On this day Jesus commanded his disciples
to love one another as he had loved them, and, to participate in the "Lord's
Supper" in his memory; as a symbol of his love for them, Jesus also washed the
feet of his gathered friends.
It is amazing how these acts have been
interpreted throughout history. In the Middle Ages the sharing of sanctified,
lifegiving bread and wine became so magical and superstitious that the priest's
muttered Latin words for "This is my body" (Hoc est corpus meum) became
the people's spellcasting "Hocus Pocus." Consecrated bread was stolen and kept
for good fortune and protection. Even in the past half-century children have
been taught not to chew the wafer, because Jesus would bleed, and some have
been commanded never, never to allow the wafer to stick to the roof of one's
mouth. Theologians have produced volumes of interpretations of The Lord's
Supper with notions ranging from particle physics and molecular chemistry to
the psychological effects of remembering. Please open your Prayer Books to page
859; here we find a brief, straight-forward introduction to the Eucharist. In
response to my asking the questions, please read aloud the answers.
Integrated with the Last Supper was the
footwashing, humility being characteristic of Christ's love. The need for
humility is apparent in the life of a young poet who had just published her
first verses; talking dejectedly with a friend, who asked why she looked so
down, she replied ever so seriously, "Shakespeare is dead. Keats, Shelley,
Byron - all dead. The responsibility on my shoulders is more than I can
bear."
Another person needing a dose of humility was a
self-absorbed character in a film; he was tormented by many interruptions and
burdens intruding on his life. Anguishing over the several delays and
compromises necessary to respond to the annoying needs of others in his life,
he cried out in desperation, "To each man, he himself is the center of the
universe."
The poet displayed an exaggerated sense of
self-importance; in an arrogant comparison with literary giants, she proclaimed
herself their successor. The film character's commitment to his own goals was
so single-minded that he was the center of his illusory universe; he was his
own god. He lost his sense of creatureliness, his interdependence among other
individuals, and the centrality of God in creation. Neither the poet nor the
film character was humble in any sense.
However, just as the Sacrament was subjected to
superstitions and philosophies alien to Christ, so was the meaning of
"humility." Being humble has come to mean virtuous self-contempt, chronic
selflessness, lacking self-assertiveness, and to make lower in status,
prestige, or esteem. In my computer's thesaurus "humility" registers
"lowliness," "meekness," "mildness," "submissiveness," and "modesty." All but
the last strike me as sure-fire qualities leading to personal and occupational
disaster. To be sure, there are occasions of love requiring subordination of
one's own needs and preferences to those of others; the prime historical
example is Jesus' acceptance of his crucifixion. But, an obsessive cultivation
of self-denial, self-depreciation and self-effacement has far more in common
with some opposing convictions of ancient Greece and Rome than with the People
of God.
"Humility" in some church circles invokes such
creeds as: "I am insignificant; I don't count at all; only others are
important." Curiously, this "lowlier-than-thou" station implies a "holier than
thou" pride; such persons expect to be congratulated on their lowliness,
inferiority, and insignificance. Their nurtured selflessness becomes a subtle
instrument for controlling others; after all, how can you quarrel with someone
who is both pious and selfless? They usually get their way, and they know it!
Of this type of person a psychiatrist wrote: "The 'unselfish' do not want
anything for themselves; they live only for others, are proud that they do not
consider themselves important. They are puzzled to find that the relationships
closest to them are unsatisfactory .... Analytic work shows that ... they are
pervaded by hostility against life and that behind the facade of unselfishness
a subtle but not less intense self-centeredness is hidden ..." [adapted from
Fromm]
In sharp contrast, one commentator has noted,
"Within the Biblical frame of reference, humility is not primarily an attitude
towards oneself at all, but towards God and towards other persons. ...it means
the willingness to let God be God; that is, to acknowledge one's dependence
upon His creative power; to rejoice in gratitude for His blessings; to adopt
the ways of the Lord as one's own; to accept in contrition the judgment of God
when one falls short; to trust His power and willingness to forgive and
redeem.... In relations between persons, humility is again, not primarily an
attitude towards oneself, but towards others.... Biblical humility entails the
recognition of others as invited guests at the Lord's own banquet table. The
result is a regard for the will, the purposes, the feelings of others for which
the pagan had no rationale." [Cherbonnier, "Humility," Hastings Dictionary
of the Bible, rev.ed.]
Contrast the self-important egotist and selfless
groveler with the English novelist Thomas Hardy who had become so famous that
any newspaper would have gladly paid well for his writing. He sometimes sent a
poem to a newspaper and, with it, a stamped, self-addressed envelope for its
return, should it be rejected. In no way arrogant, Hardy did not put himself
down, either. Instead, he was thoughtful, considerate, and open to the purposes
and feelings of others. I would say that Hardy was humble in a biblical
sense.
Today is a Holy Thursday; this is a holy night,
when in humility we gather, remember, and are fed as disciples on a journey
toward that mandated Love lived and taught by Jesus Christ Our Lord. I propose
that you and I are called neither to self-inflation nor to calculated
inferiority. Instead, Christian humility entails an equal regard for others
approaching the Lord's table, an affirmation and consideration of other people
of good will, the recognition and celebration of others' good works, and the
heartfelt conviction that the Lord God is the Sovereign "center" of the
universe. I am challenged by Christ's humility, which is nurtured in our hearts
and minds by all that we do at this very hour: by our worship of God and by our
equal regard for each other, all in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.